The NBA released its opening-week and Christmas Day schedules on Tuesday and will announce the full schedule on Thursday. The season will officially begin on Tuesday, October. 22, with three high-level games.
Brad Underwood has helped increase the presence of Illini in the NBA, with Illinois producing a first-round pick every year since 2024. Ayo Dosunmu, Terrence Shannon Jr., Kasparus Jakucionis, Will Riley and Keaton Wagler should all see minutes at the NBA level next season.
No Illinois alumni will be playing on opening night, but Dosunmu and Shannon Jr. will take the court for the Timberwolves on the second night of the season. Minnesota will begin its season on Oct. 21 against the Miami Heat. The game will be the first of the night on ESPN, followed by Warriors vs. Lakers.
That will be it for the former Illinois basketball players during the opening week of the season that has already been announced by the NBA. However, the Timberwolves will also play on Christmas Day against the 2025 NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder should once again be one of the best teams in the league, but the Timberwolves should also be in the mix to compete in the Western Conference.
The NBA’s Christmas Day schedule has been somewhat overshadowed by the NFL in recent years, but five matchups will run throughout the day, with the Timberwolves tipping off against the Thunder on ABC/ESPN at 7 p.m. It will be another great opportunity to watch Dosunmu with his new team and hopefully see Shannon Jr. receive an increased role.
Dosunmu was traded to the Timberwolves in February and excelled during his first 10 postseason games. He stepped into a bigger role during the Nuggets series due to injuries to Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo. Dosunmu scored 25 points in Game 3 and 43 points in Game 4, helping establish himself as an important piece of Minnesota’s rotation.
Dosunmu signed a five-year, $112 million extension with the Timberwolves this offseason. It was difficult to see him leave Chicago, but it will be great to see him competing for championships for years to come. Dosunmu will enter his sixth NBA season and his first full season with the Timberwolves.
Shannon Jr. will enter his third year in the NBA and with the Timberwolves. He played just 12.5 minutes per game last season but should receive an increased role after his impressive playoff performances. Shannon scored 21 points on 53.3% shooting in the Timberwolves’ final game of the season.
Jakucionis, Riley and Wagler were not included in the opening-week or Christmas Day schedules released by the NBA on Tuesday, but it will be fun to see where these young players land on the schedule early in the season. The full NBA schedule will be released on Thursday.
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